By KEN JOHNSON
Thursday started off with a bang at the Governer's Ball Food and Beverage preview. We were still basking in the glow of Wolfgang Puck as we started our video editing for the day.
By late afternoon, our updates were ready and it was time for us to get ready for the Animated Feature Symposium at the Academy Headquarters in Beverly Hills. We arrived at the Academy at 6 p.m. L.A. time. Nervously, we followed the growing crowd to the door. About 100 people hovered outside while we entered the main lobby. Inside, media types with every make and model of camera lounging around waiting for something to happen. We joined them.
A young lady with a clipboard entered the room, so we decided to take a chance and ask her for directions. She located our names on the guest list and escorted us to the red carpet media area. We setup right on the rope and waited for the VIPs of the evening to arrive. The media handlers handed out copies of the press instructions and on the back were the printed pictures of the panelists, the film makers behind the aninmated features "UP", "The Princess and the Frog", "The Secret of Kells", and "Coraline" and the events moderator animator Tom Sito.
About half an hour later, the VIPs faced the media gauntlet. We patiently waited while our print media counterparts put them through dozens of poses with a large Oscar statue. Finally, the film makers started taking questions from those of us with video cameras. I waited my turn and studied the technique of the Associated Press reporter beside me. One by one, I had my chance to ask questions about the ever expanding world of animated entertainment. I felt acute pressure to formulate an impressive question to pose to these titans of entertainment, but in the end, we simply asked the normal questions: "Was there a point in the process where you knew you had an Oscar caliber film?", "Did you ever feel like the film wouldn't make it", etc. The film makers were gracious, but we tried not to ask anymore than three questions of any of them. There is nothing worse than doing an interview and the celebrities publicist or the press handler cut you off! After all of the VIPs finished the line, the other members of the media started for the door, but not us. Mr. Haberkamp from Wednesday had arranged tickets for us. We passed him on our way into the theater.
He called for us to turn back. We followed him back to the lobby where he secured "Priority Seating" passes for us to sit in the corded-off areas. The Symposium impressed us with the 10 minute clips of each film, along with the candid and thoughtful explanations to the art of creating a story and film for an aminated feature.
We left the theater at 9:50PM, again pinching ourselves to see if this were really happening. As we walked to the car, we were as animated as any feature we had seen on the screen at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
A big thank you to our sponsors who helped make our trip a reality: The Star Beacon, ACMC, Conneaut Savings Bank, EB & Co., Star 97, 98.3 The Bull, Magic Oldies 102.5, New Knoxville Telephone and Cable Company, and of course, my employer Conneaut Telephone Company and CableSuite 541.
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